Scientist – Viral Vector Engineering

About our company

We are a Toronto-based agricultural biotechnology startup developing a novel platform for precision bioinsecticides. Our products are designed to eliminate target insect pests while leaving beneficial insects, pollinators, and the broader environment unharmed.

The Role

We are looking for a scientist to lead the development and optimization of our biological delivery system. You will be responsible for building our virus-like-particle production pipeline, ensuring consistent assembly and function, and developing high-throughput screening methods to identify the best-performing candidates from large engineered libraries.

Compensation

• $85,000 to $100,000 CAD + equity + benefits.

What You’ll Do

• Build and optimize the production pipeline for our engineered biological particles using microbial expression systems
• Establish and troubleshoot particle assembly, expression, and purification protocols
• Develop high-throughput functional screening assays to select the best candidates from large combinatorial libraries
• Characterize particle quality, homogeneity, and cargo integrity using appropriate analytical methods
• Collaborate with contract manufacturing partners on pilot-scale production and batch consistency
• Work closely with our protein design and insect biology teams to integrate engineered components into functional particles

What You Bring

• PhD (or MSc + equivalent experience) in virology, structural biology, molecular biology, or a related field
• Hands-on experience producing virus-like particles, viral vectors, or recombinant biological particles
• Strong understanding of particle self-assembly, cargo packaging, and expression system optimization
• Experience with flow cytometry / FACS for high-throughput screening or selection
• Proficiency in molecular cloning, protein expression, and purification
• Familiarity with analytical techniques for particle characterization (DLS, TEM, SEC, or similar)

Nice to Have

• Experience with yeast-based expression systems
• Prior work in pharmaceutical or agricultural particle production
• Experience with fermentation scale-up from bench to pilot scale
• Comfort working in an early-stage startup environment